


Here For A Reason - Part 2

by LoveYourArtFriend



Series: Here For A Reason [2]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Chris Evans - Fandom, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Romance, Steve Rogers Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-12 11:57:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18446090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoveYourArtFriend/pseuds/LoveYourArtFriend





	Here For A Reason - Part 2

“Steve, I’ve got her. Go wait with Nick. He has ‘f/n’s’ files you can look at,” and with a slight push, she managed to send him down the hall. Natasha came back into your room to help you get ready, offering her jacket as your shirt was ripped open. “That man is like a lost puppy dog….he’s really taken by you.”

“Pfft, whatever! He’s just being polite...it’s been an eventful day.”

“He kissed your hand, ‘f/n’.” You rolled your eyes at her even though the hand kiss was still stuck in your mind. “Fury will keep him occupied with your files and we’ll meet with some of the team members after we get to the tower.”

“Well, that’ll be a little unnerving.”

“You’ll be fine,” she winked.

The car ride to the tower was quiet as Fury drove and Steve kept reading from your files. Upon arrival at the tower, you were led through the spacious lobby to the elevator. “I’ll take ‘f/n’ to her room and we’ll meet you in twenty,” Nat confirmed with Fury. The ride up was still quiet, making you feel like you had done something wrong. The door opened to Nat’s floor and you both stepped out. When the doors closed, you turned to Nat and stated how intimidated and uncomfortable that felt. “Fury won’t be silent for long. He’s just in ‘top secret’ mode until you’ve been introduced to the team. Trust me, everyone will be getting to know you and it won’t be that quiet!” she chuckled. “So, obviously this is the floor I live on and until further notice, you’ll be in the other room down the hall.” She took you to your temporary abode and walked in. All your belongings were there.

“Thank you for taking care of all this, Natasha.”

“Hey, that’s what I’m here for, to take care of you ‘til you’re back on your feet. I’ll be helping you every day along with your care from Dr. Banner. I’ll be back in ten to take you to the conference room,” she said as she stepped out of your room, closing the door.

~~~~~~

Walking into the conference room, you were waved over by Fury who was at the head of the table. “Over here, Agent ‘l/n’,” he motioned his hand to the seat beside him. As you walked over, he poured you a glass of water.

“Thank you, Sir,” you replied, sitting and taking a much needed sip from your glass. You looked around the table, noticing two files at every seat, knowing they were about you. You suddenly felt very tiny. These people didn’t know you from a hill of beans, a stranger that has suddenly shown up on their turf. Nat sat a few seats away and confirmed to Fury with a nod that everything was ready. The team members started filing in and sitting around the conference table, Agent Hill, Mr. Stark, Mr. Barton, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Wilson and Dr. Banner. The silence was stifling. Your nerves started firing up, causing your heart to beat ferociously and your hands to tremble.

“Thank you for coming on short notice today instead of tomorrow. “Your father’s ‘f/n l/n’” Fury started, pointing to the files in front of everyone that they slowly opened. “Over 30 years a S.H.I.E.L.D. Intel expert and personal friend of mine. Three years ago, he and his wife moved to Europe and I’ve kept them under the radar. ‘Your father’s ‘l/n’s’ only child served in the U.S. Army and rose through the ranks as an expert in Tactical Engineering and Logistics. She had combat training and used the weapons training in her mission planning. Her brilliant mind earned her place and the respect of every General she worked for. I made a promise to ‘your father’s l/n’ to watch out for his daughter when she returned to the United States. Her four year tour ended a few weeks ago. I contacted her, offering her a job. She accepted and I sent Agent Romanoff to prep her. She’s been fully briefed of this team and its abilities and despite all that, has still decided to work for me. I need someone to ensure this team is fully prepared for their missions, instead of going off all willy nilly.” That put a smirk on your face. “Now, it seems she felt the need to put herself on the grid a little sooner than expected.” You could feel the heat seep into your cheeks. “Meet Agent ‘f/n l/n’.”

You reluctantly stood, did a quick glance around the room and said shyly, “It’s an honor to meet everyone.”

“Agent ‘l/n’, in light of today’s events, take it easy in the morning and meet me in my office at 10 o’clock sharp.”

“Yes, thank you, Sir.”

Fury looked around the room at the silent team members’ shocked faces when he only gave you a couple hours off in the morning. “What! I’m nice like that!” he smirked. “‘L/n’, get yourself checked in with the good doctor and Banner, keep me posted.”

“Will do,” Bruce replied.

“Now, I leave you all to get acquainted,” Fury said as he quickly exited the room.

You felt all eyes on you and could tell a red flush was creeping up your neck. Again, what was with the deafening silence! “Well, that was terribly stressful,” you muttered under your breath, trying to regain your composure. “I look forward to getting to know all of you. Mr. Stark, thank you for allowing me to stay here while I recover.” Tony nodded and rose from his seat. You continued to speak nervously, “I’m not here to give orders, I’m here to ensure Fury has the best plans for his missions.” Tony was walking toward you with a stern look on his face. You glanced at him and quickly moved your eyes back to the faces around the table, continuing shakily, “Executing those plans……” Tony’s hands grabbed your shoulders and spun you to face him directly.

“Welcome to the team, ‘f/n’,” he spoke with sincerity in his eyes. Everyone stood up and started walking your way.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Stark.” He released you and the other members stood by your side to welcome you. As the moments progressed, you were being asked questions about your family, your fields of study and your tour around the world. The meeting turned into a meet and greet and after much anxiety beforehand, you started to relax. You knew about these people from reading their files and of course, the media, but trying to remain composed was tough. You were the newbie after all, the little fish in the big pond. You knew you would have to prove yourself before you felt like a true member of the team.

Natasha and Steve wandered to the side of the room to speak as you chatted with the others. “Her qualifications are impressive and I can see why Fury wanted her by his side,” Natasha commented.

“Now I know what he meant on the phone today when he said he couldn’t lose her.”

“You seemed pretty protective of her today.”

“I don’t know what it is,” Steve blushed, “there’s just something…..I’d like to get to know her better.”

Natasha nodded, “You know, Steve, after spending a couple days with her, I can tell you that even though she’s somewhat shy, she’s got a good heart and a strong will. I could feel it in her. She’s polite and she knows her place among the ranks. She’s been well trained. I’ll watch out for her, show her the ropes around here and get her into a training regime.”

“If you need anything, let me know. I’d be happy to help.”

“You got it,” she put her hand on his shoulder and gave him a wink. She walked over to Clint and listened to the conversations that were happening. Steve leaned up against the wall, just watching and listening. After a while, you felt like you told everyone your whole life story. You supposed they were entitled to know.

Maria knew about the earlier accident and put her hand on your shoulder asking, “‘F/n’, are feeling okay after today?”

“I think I’m doing alright, Agent Hill. Thank you for asking. I’m sure adrenalin had something to do with getting me through the day but I can feel my body slowing down now. I’ll probably head to bed soon.”

“Make sure you come to see me before you head to your room. I’ll just do a quick once over so JARVIS can monitor you through the night,” Bruce instructed.

“I will Doctor, thank you.”

After hearing that, Steve pulled himself from the wall and walked over to the group. Tony stated, “There’s the man that was in the right place at the right time!”

You turned and looked into Steve’s eyes with a small smile, then shyly looked down at your casted hand. Looking back to his eyes you whispered, “Thank you.” Steve wrapped his arms around you and held you for a moment. You let out a sigh and tried to hold back the tear that was threatening to stream down your cheek.

“I am just thankful I was there to help.”

“Steve, I can’t believe you were there, that’s crazy, man!” Sam stated. “What are the odds of that?” The men started to chatter about the finite details with Steve when you turned to Natasha. She could tell you were exhausted. She motioned with her head for you to follow her.

“Good night everyone. Sorry to be a party pooper but I won’t make it much longer. Hope I’ll see some of you tomorrow. Dr. Banner, I’ll be at the lab in about ten minutes.”

“Sounds good,” he replied.

“Good night ‘f/n’!” the rest of the team said, almost in unison. With that, you followed Natasha up to your floor and prepped for bed. Nat gave you a quick tour around the floor showing you the kitchen, living area, etc., then down to your room.

“Thank you, Natasha, for everything you’ve done today. You’ve been so kind.”

“Hey, whether you were at the apartment or here at the tower, I would have stayed with you. You’re one of us now, of course I’m going to have your back.”

“Oh, I’m not an Aven….”

“Stop it!” Nat scolded. “You’re too polite….I get enough of that from Steve. Don’t make me slap the politeness out of you.” You started to laugh and gave Nat a hug of appreciation. “Okay, go get ready and I’ll take you to Banner.” Moments later you popped back out and Nat took you to the Med Lab. Bruce was getting what he needed for your visit when the door slid open.

“Ah, ‘f/n’,” Bruce waved you over. You made your way through the lab, eyes taking in the vastness of the room. “Doing okay? Any dizziness, nausea...need more pain meds?”

“No, I’m just tired.”

“To be expected but we’ll monitor you through the night to be sure you don’t have a concussion. A blow to the head like that and you should be in a lot worse shape,” he stated, sticking an electrode to your temple.

“Thank you for everything, Doctor Banner.”

“Please, call me Bruce….and it’s my pleasure. JARVIS will monitor you through the night and if there’s anything you need, I’ll be there.”

“Thank you Doct….I mean, Bruce.” You shyly looked down at your feet, curled your lips to an appreciative smile and looked back up into Bruce’s eyes. He put a hand on your shoulder and smiled as you turned to make your way to the exit. Bruce turned to Natasha and mouthed, “She’s so sweet!” Nat smiled and nodded before she turned to head up to your floor. “JARVIS, start monitoring ‘f/n’s’ brain activity and vitals for the night. Notify me if anything goes awry.”

“Of course, Dr. Banner.”

~~~~~~

Morning came too early for your liking. The back of your head was sore but you chalked it up to having slept on it. You swung your legs over the edge of the bed and thought about the possibility of getting up. “Ugh, I’m not a morning person!”

“Good morning, Miss ‘l/n’, did you sleep well?” JARVIS piped through your room.

“Oh my God, you scared me, JARVIS,” you blurted as you placed your hand over your heart.

“My apologies, Miss ‘l/n’. I am required to report to Dr. Banner when you wake. How do you feel this morning? Will you require a visit to the lab?

“Oh, please don’t wake Dr. Banner. I’m good JARVIS,” you admitted as you pulled the electrode from your temple. “When he wakes, please tell him I’m up and I’m feeling fine. I’m starving, actually.”

“Dr. Banner is already awake and working in the lab, Miss ‘l/n’.”

“Really? At 6:05 in the morning? Doesn’t he sleep?”

“Not often, Miss ‘l/n’.”

“Dang,” you chuckled. “I’ll come see him on my way to the gym….before 8 o’clock.”

“Yes, Miss ‘l/n’. Will you require coffee this morning?”

“Oh JARVIS, you are a Godsend!! Yes PLEASE!!!”

“It will be ready for your shortly, Miss ‘l/n’.”

“Thank you JARVIS,” and with that, you went to the bathroom to freshen up and look semi-human before exiting your room.

Heading down the hall to your kitchen area, you could smell the fresh coffee. You scavenged through the cupboards to find a mug and settled at the bar with your nectar of the Gods, a banana and the nearby tablet to peruse the internet. A little bit later, Nat came in looking disheveled and moaning for coffee. You couldn’t help but giggle at her while she shuffled along and eventually leaned on the bar across from you.

“Good Morning, Sunshine???” you chucked at her as she acted as a worse morning person than you. As she snickered a mumbled good morning back to you, you knew the two of you would get along famously. You cleaned up your area of the bar and made note to Natasha that you were going to go meet with Dr. Banner, then meet up with her for yoga in the gym at 8 o’clock.

~~~~~~

“Good Morning, Bruce! How are you this morning?”

“I’m great but the question is, how are you?”

“Doing well, considering!”

“Anything hurt?”

“Just my stitches. They’re a little sensitive but I think I slept on them, not realizing.”

“Come have a seat and we’ll take a look.” You sat in the chair before him and tilted your head down. “They look fine. It’s probably going to be tender for a couple more days. That gash was pretty deep but they closed it up pretty tight. Just be careful and I mean it! I have a hard enough time keeping the rest of the nimrods in here in one piece when they ignore my warnings.” With that statement, you chuckled. “Now, how’s your arm? Need any meds?”

“No, actually it hurts less than my head.”

“Wow, maybe it’s not as bad a fracture as they thought, I’ll double check your file. So, if you’re exercising with Nat, be careful. I’ll let you go a few days before you have to see me again, but if you need me or anything happens, get here immediately.”

“I will.” You rose from the chair and headed toward the exit. “Thank you, Bruce. See you later.” You left the lab and passed Tony who was on his way to see Bruce with some weird trinkets in his hand. “Good morning, Mr. Stark!”

“Please, call me Tony. How are you feeling? Going to the gym?”

Yes, Sir….uh, Tony, thank you. Going to try and get into a training regime. I’m doing well, no pain meds, yay!” you shot a thumbs up.

“Just be careful.”

“I will, thank you, Tony,” you commented as you turned to head to the gym.

Tony entered the lab and commented to Bruce, “Did a checkup on ‘f/n’ this morning, huh.”

“Yeah, she’s doing great. She’s in good spirits and she’s so dang sweet!”

~~~~~~

You and Nat were about thirty minutes into your sweaty yoga stretches when Steve passed by the gym window on his way to talk to Tony in the lab. He stood and watched you bend and contort, trying to figure out how women did things like that. After standing there for ten minutes, he noticed the both of you break your stances and head over to the weight bench. The two of you sat tandem style with Nat behind you, stretching out your arm since you couldn’t use it effectively during your session. She was using the proper two-man technique for stretching you out so as not to hurt you. Steve lost track of time while watching and was broken from his trance when his phone prompted a text from Tony, asking where he was. Walking to the lab he thought this could become his new morning routine.

~~~~~~

An hour later, you were all showered and ready for the day, anxious to tackle your meeting with Fury. You hopped in the car with Nat who took you to HQ for your meeting and to show you around. Eyes wide upon entering the massive building, nerves started to wiggle their way into your body, causing shaky hands while riding up to the Director’s floor. You and Nat stepped off the glass elevator that rode along the outside of the building and made your way down the hall. Nat knocked on the Director’s door and the two of you went inside.

Agent Hill was speaking to Fury holding files in her hands. She quickly turned to the door as you entered. “Agent ‘l/n’, Agent Romanoff. Please come in and have a seat.” All three of you took a seat while Fury prepped himself to speak.

“How are you feeling, Agent ‘l/n’?”

“Good, Sir, thank you.”

“Alright then, I’ll get right to the point. Agent ‘l/n’, I want you to have the full facility tour with Hill and Romanoff. I’m supplying you with blueprints to this building, Stark Tower and the helicarriers. We are going to upgrade for function and weapons so you need to memorize those schematics. Talk to whomever you need to and create a plan that you can bring back to me. If and when I receive mission intel, the mission will be your first priority and the schematics will be your ‘down time’ assignment….although I’d like to see weapons upgrades sooner than later. Agent Romanoff, take Agent ‘l/n’ to her office where she’ll find her new toys. Give her the HQ tour and then over to Agent Hill in the hangar.”

“Yes, Sir,” Natasha replied.

“Agent ‘l/n’, welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D. and good luck.”

“Thank you, Sir.” With that, you all stood and left his office.

“I’ll catch you later ‘f/n’,” exclaimed Maria.

“Sure thing,” you said happily. Natasha grabbed your arm and led you down the hall to your new office. She opened your door and you walked in, stunned. ‘Wow’ was all that could escape your lips.

“Impressive, huh!” Natasha commented. She walked over to your desk where a bunch of items were placed. You followed as she explained what they were. “Here’s your laptop, tablet, badge, blueprints and phone.”

“Phone?”

“Yup. You’re hooked into the team, Maria and Fury. We all got your number this morning to put in our phones, so we’re good to go. You’ll want to keep this on you at all times.” She handed you the phone and you got extremely nervous while tucking it in your pocket. “It’s okay, ‘f/n’, you’re going to be just fine. Now, this is important, she put her hand on top of what looked like clothing. This is your mission uniform.”

“What? I didn’t think I would be…..”

“Yeah, you will. You’re an integral part of this team. You may not go yet, until you’re fully healed, but Fury will eventually have you accompany us. You’re combat trained and we may need you in the field.” You held a look of awe on your face, hardly believing you were considered part of this team and how Nat was so at ease with it all. She wrapped her arm around your shoulder and started to lead you out your office door. Placing your key in your hand to lock the door she stated, “We’ll come back and pick this stuff up before we leave. I’ve got lots to show you.” You spent the next few hours touring around the building, meeting people, having lunch then getting excited when she took you into the armoury. She showed you the shooting range, located through an adjacent door and how she’d shoot with you when your cast was removed. Walking what seemed like miles throughout the building, you and Nat chatted about the team and how everyone really liked you.

“But they don’t even know me yet.”

“You’ve made an impression, let’s just put it that way. Bruce thinks you’re the sweetest thing, Tony can’t wait to pick your brilliant brain, Clint wants to teach you the bow and arrow when your cast is off and Sam and I think you’ll be great for the team. Also, I feel like you’re the sister I never had. I don’t share my emotions very often, but there’s something about you…….and that actually brings me to Steve.” You turned your head to look at her. She turned to you as well saying, “I’m telling you, ‘f/n’, he’s really drawn to you. I think he wants to know you better.” You blushed and shook your head as she opened the door to the hangar and you both stepped inside. Your face was priceless….jaw dropping to the floor.

“Oh! My! God! This is unbelievable, Nat!” you exclaimed. She grabbed your arm as you stumbled across the catwalk, taking in the extreme massiveness of the helicarriers. The closer your approach to the carrier, the smaller you felt until Nat broke your moment of awe.

“She’s all yours, Maria.”

“Come on in, ‘f/n’. It’s even more impressive inside!” Maria smirked at you. “I’ll have her back to you in about an hour, Nat.” Natasha nodded and turned to walk away.

“Wow, Agent Hill, I am awestruck!”

“‘F/n’, please call me Maria, and yes, I was awestruck in the beginning, as well,” she giggled. She walked through the opening and toured you through the entire craft. “We definitely have room for improvement on this boat, ‘f/n’, and that’s where you come in. Once you learn the blueprints Fury gave you, I’ll get whomever you need to collaborate with and help with your visionary concept.”

“Thank you, Maria. You are too good to me,” you commented, thinking about the word ‘visionary’ in your mind. You had an idea who you could talk to!

“Well ‘f/n’, you’re here for a reason and we want to make sure everything is available to you. When you learn the lay of the land, everything will fall into place and you’ll be a pro at this,” she commented. You smiled and followed her out of the carrier. The two of you headed back to your office, making small talk and getting to know each other. You both seemed very comfortable in each other’s presence and felt you would have a great working relationship as well as friendship. As you approached your office, Nat was waiting outside on a chair, playing with her phone. You said goodbye to Maria and turned to unlock your office door. Without you seeing, Maria looked at Natasha and mouthed, ‘she’s so sweet!’

Natasha started to giggle but tried to hide it by asking if you had a good tour of the helicarriers.

“It was awesome, Nat. I’m excited to get started.”

“Well, you can get started tomorrow….your day is done. Let’s go home.”

You started to chuckle while picking up your newly acquired goodies from S.H.I.E.L.D. “Remember, this is my ‘off duty’ assignment. I don’t think my days will ever be done.” Natasha laughed along with you as you headed to the car.

~~~~~~

While in the elevator heading to your floor, both yours and Nat’s phones buzzed. You both looked at each other and your eyes grew large as this was the first text you received on your new phone. You both looked at your devices and saw Tony sent a message.

TS: Meet us in the lounge-hanging out tonight!

Nat let you off at your shared floor and continued to the lounge. Opening your bedroom door you thought how nice it was he invited you. Quickly throwing your work down on the table and changing into more casual clothes, you headed to the elevator, secretly hoping there was going to be food.

Stepping off the elevator, everyone turned and yelled your name.. ‘f/n’!!.” You stopped in your tracks and turned a lovely rouge color. Tony walked over and handed you a shot glass full of something to quench your thirst.

“You didn't have a proper welcome due to yesterday's events so we're relieved you're okay and…..welcome to the team!” he toasted. Everyone raised their glass and welcomed you enthusiastically. You were stunned and stood wide eyed. Tony clinked your shot glass, breaking your spell. You turned to face him and tossed your shot down your throat. He took your empty glass and exclaimed “There’s more where that came from! So what's your poison, ‘f/n’?”

“Well you probably don't have any.”

“Try me,” he dared.

You scrunched up your face as if you were letting out a secret…”Crown Royal?”

His eyes widened and he stated, “Ah, a girl after my own heart!” Tony bolted behind his bar and pulled up a beautiful purple velvet bag. You inhaled in surprise. He opened the bag, grinning from ear to ear and pulled out the liquid gold.

A loud “oooh” came from everyone as they watched the spectacle. “You realize now you're his special drinking buddy, ‘f/n’,” Nat pointed out. You heard a few laughs.

“That's okay, I can hold my liquor pretty well,” you stated as Tony placed your new drink in front of you. He paused at your comment and tilted his head as if an idea came to his mind.

“Tony, looks like you've got some competition,” Sam yelled.

Tony picked up his drink and the two of you clinked glasses. “Looks like I do,” he said with a smirk before taking a sip.

You thanked Tony, took a sip and smiled while turning to head toward Nat. You said hello to Clint, Sam and Bruce along the way. Nat took you over to the other side of the room where Steve was standing. You pulled back on Nat's arm when you realized who he was standing with. “It's okay. ‘f/n’, he won't bite.” You walked over to the duo and Nat proceeded, “‘F/n’, I'd like you meet Thor.” Your heart practically jumped through your chest wall. Nervously, you held out your hand to shake his.

“It's an honor to met you.”

“I am the one who is honored, ‘f/n’. I heard of yesterday's incident. I hope you are not too badly injured.” He took your hand and kissed your knuckles. Oh, what's with that lovely hand kissing that makes you blush!

“I'm doing well, thank you. I don't think I'll be too long recovering. Everyone's been looking out for me.”

“I am relieved, ‘f/n’. I look forward to working with you.”

“As do I, Thor. Thank you.”

Nat grabbed Thor’s arm and started to pull him to the bar, citing he needed a drink refill. “We’ll be back,” she exclaimed as she turned her head over her shoulder.

You turned to Steve and chuckled, “I don't think they're coming back, do you?”

He laughed and shook his head. “No, I don't think they are. That's okay, that just means we can start getting to know each other.” A shy smile grew across his lips.

“Oh sure, I'd like that,” you stated. Steve offered you a seat on the nearest couch. You both sat while hearing Tony exclaim that dinner would be arriving in twenty minutes. “I'm famished,” you exclaimed.

“Me, too,” Steve replied. You smiled. “So how was your day at HQ?”

“Good. Fury’s going to keep me really busy. Seems I’ll have daytime assignments and off duty assignments, too”, you snickered.

“What! That's crazy, you only just started.”

“That doesn't matter to Fury...jobs have to be done. The only restrictions are the number of hours in a day.”

“Sounds like you have a good work ethic,” Steve said proudly. You nodded and took a sip of your drink. “So, you know Fury personally, then.”

“No actually, yesterday was the first time I met him.” Steve's head crooked to the side in surprise. You saw his look and continued, “Since my Dad was Fury’s Intel man, he made sure his work and family were kept private. I knew what Dad did for a living and I knew that his monthly trips to New York were for business. He'd go for a week at a time and come back telling us about being at S.H.I.E.L.D. and how he and Nick became good friends. I never met him but felt like I always knew him.”

“And what about your parents, they moved to Europe, right?”

“Yes, Ireland actually. A year after I joined the army, I think they thought the house felt empty. Mom had relatives in Ireland that she wanted to be closer to so they contacted me they were moving and hoped I could see them if my tour brought me close enough. I actually haven't been there yet.” You hung your head sadly and swirled your drink.

Steve put his hand on your shoulder which made you look up into his eyes. “You'll get to see them, hang in there.”

“Thank you, I will. In the meantime, looks like I'll be kept busy,” you smiled.

Steve laughed and proceeded to ask you more questions about yourself. You gladly answered and were very careful when asking questions about him. You asked about his past and serving in the army. That led the discussion to a comparison of today's army to yesteryear. Time was flying by for you and Steve and you didn't even hear that the Chinese food had arrived. The other team members watched you both and chatted among themselves whether Steve finally found someone he could relate to.

Tony walked over with another shot glass, “Bottoms up! Let's eat Kiddo.” He held a hand out to help you off the couch and broke your conversation with Steve.

“I’m sorry, Tony. I was so wrapped up in our conversation, I didn't realize the food was here.” You clinked your shot glass with Tony again and whipped the shot past your lips. You looked back at Steve who seemed disappointed the conversation had ended. “Pick up where we left off after dinner?” you asked Steve kindly.

“Absolutely,” he smiled, as he put his hand to the small of your back and led you to the food table. You both loaded your plates and sat with everyone else, laughing and joking with your new friends. After dining, you all moved over to the couches and chairs with a fresh round of drinks. The laughter continued for another couple of hours as Thor told Asgardian tales and Sam told Stark tales. You were in need of a drink refill as your tears of laughter dried you out, or it was all the MSG in the Chinese food. You pushed yourself off the couch and headed to the bar where Tony was tending. Your cheeks blushing a bright pink after laughing so hard.

“Another, f/n?”

“Please, I’m parched…..and my sides hurt from laughing. I needed this evening. Thank you for inviting me tonight, Tony.”

“You’re always invited, ‘f/n’.” He handed you your drink and you clinked glasses. You turned and rested your elbow on the bar, just wanting to stand for a bit to let your sides stretch out.

Steve stood and walked over to the bar, asking Tony for another beer. He slid the open brew across the bar top. “Do you want to go out on the balcony for some air?” Steve asked, noticing you were rubbing your side.

“Sure.” You followed Steve past the seating area and noticed that Sam stood up to head home. “Bye Sam, see you soon!” you said as you put your hand on his shoulder. He put his hand over yours and pulled it to his lips, giving a quick peck on your knuckles.

“It’s been great hanging with you tonight, ‘f/n’.” You smiled and turned to continue behind Steve. Sam turned back to everyone and said, “She’s such a sweetheart!”

Not realizing there was a balcony, you were blown away by the beautiful view as you stepped into the warm night air and over to the railing. “This is beautiful! I could live out here.”

Steve chuckled, “You might get cold in the winter.” You started to laugh harder and put your arm around your stomach, trying to mask the pain it was causing you. You both put your drinks down on the ledge. “Are you okay?” Steve asked with a grin on his face.

“Oh, I’m fine. It just hurts to laugh, so please, no more jokes,” you were still giggling and still hurting.

“Well, that’s no fun.”

“You’re mean,” and you playfully stuck your tongue out at him. A tear from laughter trickled down your cheek as you tried to take a deep breath and calm your giggles. Steve reached over and gently wiped away the tear, causing you to stare into his eyes. You felt your body heat start to creep up your neck. You quickly looked to the ground, bashfully, not knowing what to say. As you caught your breath, you looked back up and whispered, “Thank you.”

Steve slowly pulled his hand from your cheek as he held a soft smile on his lips. The twinkling lights of the city were your backdrop. “You know,” Steve started, “You’ve really made an impression on everyone in there,” he complimented.

“Really?”

“For sure.”

“Maybe it’s just how everything came to be.”

“How so?”

“The accident brought me into your lives, even before Fury’s introduction. There’s more emotion involved now because everyone is concerned for someone else’s well-being.”

“That we are, but for me, ugh, this is going to sound crazy. I have saved people and I have lost people, and my emotions have played out accordingly, but yesterday, for some strange reason during the accident, I was scared. I didn't even know who you were yet but I felt a connection to you. You probably think it’s weird.”

You stared intently into his eyes, trying to make sense of what he was saying. With heart pounding, you managed to whisper, “No, I don’t.”

“I really enjoyed our conversation earlier. You’re comfortable to be around and easy to talk to. You show genuine interest in others, as well. It’s like you’ve been with us forever. The team likes you…..a lot.”

“And you?” you breathed.

“A lot,” Steve said confidently, not breaking your eye contact.

You were at a loss for words. Standing in front of each other, you tried to say something as your mouth quivered. Steve placed his hands on your cheeks and brought his head toward yours until you were forehead to forehead, nose to nose. Tilting his head slightly, his lips grazed against yours, almost unsure if they should touch. Then he gently pushed his lips wholly onto yours.

You slowly brought your hands up and held his arms softly as he continued to warm you. Everything went silent as you stood there, immersed in an adoring moment. His lips moved slowly to take in the suppleness of your top lip, then your bottom. He tenderly released your kiss, keeping his hands on your cheeks.

“I like you, too, Steve. I hope I can be around you more,” you breathed and bit down gently on your lower lip.

He looked deeply into your eyes and affectionately said, “I _want_ you to be around me more.”


End file.
